Archive for May, 2009

I watched a great documentary this weekend: Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton by Loic Prigent. I stumbled upon this DVD while searching through my local library’s online catalog, and decided to check it out. The film was produced for French television in 2007, and the DVD has the option for English or German narration and subtitles. The film follows designer Marc Jacobs while he designs two separated collections: one for his own label, and one for Louis Vuitton. The film crew was given unprecedented access to the design tables and work rooms of both fashion houses. You’re able to see how the creative process begins (pitch meetings, inspiration boards) and how it ends (the last minute stitching on garments less than an hour before a runway show).

You don’t need to have an interest in high end fashion to enjoy this documentary. I think anyone with a creative mind will enjoy seeing Marc Jacobs go through the creative process; I know I found inspiration from watching him and his teams work. Anyone who’s pulled an all nighter finishing up a project will sympathize with the crews pulling 24 hour plus shifts to get the garments ready for a runway show. I also found this film to have an overall fun spirit to it, which made it that much more exciting to watch. The narration is quick and witty, the editing is clever and entertaining, there is some great music in the background, and of course, Marc Jacobs himself is fun to watch.

This clip from the film demonstrates perfectly what this movie is all about: the fun music, the creative process, the team’s attitude and spirit under Jacobs’ direction.

I am the proud owner of two new pairs of craft scissors! I stopped by Michael’s today, after reading on Decor8 that all Martha Stewart Crafts products are 25% off until May 23rd. I’d seen Martha talk about her scissors on her show a few weeks ago, and this sale was the perfect reason to pick them up. I got a pair of all purpose scissors (regular size), and a pair of precision scissors (small). My mom taught me the importance of having separate fabric scissors, but I hadn’t thought of having dedicated paper scissors until Martha talked about it on her show. Also, we just moved, and our regular old purple handled scissors have gotten packing tape gunk on them from opening up all the moving boxes.

They both cut really well, and you can adjust the tension on the blades (for cutting through thick paper). I also wanted to get them because each pair comes with a plastic pouch that snaps shut AND a plastic blade cover. I’m really looking forward to using the small ones on upcoming projects- I like the idea of making small, precision cuts on my collages.

As I said above, the sale is on ALL of her products- there were some really cute labeling stickers that I just may have to go pick up before the sale is over.

Have you heard about the new online marketplace for handmade goods? 1000 Markets had their official opening last month but has had an online presence since September. It’s been getting many comparisons to etsy, but 1000 Markets is setting itself apart in a big way: sellers need to be approved to sell in the marketplace. On their website, they basically state that a seller needs to have her site ready to go in terms of appearance, and needs a minimum of six products to sell before a merchant’s site will go live. In an interview with Techflash.com, 1000 Markets co-founder and CEO Matthew Trifiro says that “Etsy’s vast collection is actually problematic… Because there are so many products and merchants… it can be difficult to find what your are looking for. The quality suffers as a result.” As someone who both buys and sells on etsy, I can see his point. As a buyer, it can be difficult to search through all the listings for say, photographs (there were 1549 pages to search through last I checked). This is also a problem with online shopping in general, but sometimes you just don’t know what you’re looking for until you see it. The prospect of looking at over a thousand pages of merchandise gives me carpal tunnel just thinking about it. As a seller, I can also see the advantage of selecting who gets to join a handmade marketplace; it can give the site a more legit handmade title (I’ve always wondered why etsy allows vintage items). As I thought about the process of applying to and needing approval from 1000 Markets, I started to think about the value we place on things when we’re just given something, and when we work for it. I’ll be the first to admit that I was very slow in actually starting my etsy site after I got the idea, and I still don’t have as many items up for sale as I’d like. I don’t want to imply that I’m not responsible for that; but I can’t help wonder if I’d give my site more time if I’d had to prove myself just to get there.

I think it will be interesting to see how 1000 Markets sets itself apart from etsy, and to see how both buyers and sellers take to it. Have you checked out 1000 Markets? Do you think there’s room for another handmade marketplace on the web?